Apollo Management L P

Chains have new owners; union threatens strike

LOS ANGELES — Two Southern California-based supermarket chains have come under new ownership during the past year, and the region’s three major chains faced the possibility of a labor strike as summer got under way.

Commerce-based Smart & Final Inc., owned by Apollo Management LP, a private equity firm, sold its Henry’s Farmers Market group to Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Markets LLC in April.

Henry’s stores are located throughout Southern California, while Sprouts has about 100 stores in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and California that offer a wide range of natural and organic foods. Sprouts also operates some stores in Texas under the Sun Harvest Farmers Market name.

Sprouts reportedly will have $1 billion in annual sales and about 7,000 employees.

It also could have as many as 200 stores within three to four years, many in Northern California as well as in Ventura, Santa Barbara, the Central Coast and the Inland Empire, east of Los Angeles, said Dick Spezzano, president of Spezzano Consulting Services, Monrovia.

“They seem to do well no matter where they go,” he said.

All locations eventually will operate under the Sprouts Farmers Market banner.

The stores were expected to start shipping out of the former Stater Bros. distribution center in Riverside, Calif., starting this summer, Spezzano said.

Both companies, though separately owned, were established by the Henry Boney family of San Diego, which will manage the new company. Apollo Management Group is the majority owner.

Last fall, Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu Inc. sold its 14-store, Carson, Calif.-based Bristol Farms division to Bristol Farms management and Endeavour Capital, an investment firm experienced in grocery and retail businesses.

The company reportedly has about 1,500 employees and does more than $200 million a year in sales.

Supervalu picked up the Bristol Farms division in 2006 when it acquired the Alberstons chain.

Spezzano said Supervalu trimmed personnel and improved Bristol Farms’ bottom line before selling the chain at a “significant discount” from what Albertsons paid for it.

Health care remained a sticking point early this summer as United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 negotiated with Southern California Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons supermarkets on behalf of 62,000 unionized grocery store workers.

EVERTEC, Inc. Announces Senior Management Changes | Virtual ...

EVERTEC, Inc. (“EVERTEC” or the “Company”) announced today that Luis O. Abreu, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has decided to retire after 7 years of service with the Company. Mr. Abreu has worked at EVERTEC since its inception and helped through its transition to becoming an independent company following the merger transaction in September 2010. Mr. Abreu will retire from the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective on August 1, 2011, but will remain with EVERTEC in his capacity as Senior Vice President until December 1, 2011 to allow for a smooth transition for his successor.

“I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Luis for his invaluable service to the Company since the beginning of EVERTEC,” said Félix M. Villamil, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our business has benefited from his dedication and contributions. Luis has built a strong team and is leaving behind a solid foundation to support our Company's continued growth. We wish him the best in his retirement and future endeavors.”

In addition, EVERTEC announced today its Board of Directors has appointed Juan Jose Román-Jiménez to succeed Mr. Abreu as EVERTEC’s Chief Financial Officer effective as of August 1, 2011. Mr. Román-Jiménez has served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Triple-S Management Corporation (NYSE:GTS) since 2002. Mr. Román-Jiménez has been a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 1989. He earned a B.A. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.

“We are pleased to welcome Juan José Roman to the EVERTEC team. He brings valuable senior financial experience, combined with strategic insights and broad management skills, which we believe will help further our growth plans and build upon the accomplishments made under Luis’ leadership”, concluded Villamil.

About EVERTEC, Inc.

EVERTEC, Inc. is a diversified processing business, offering transaction processing, payment processing, merchant acquiring and other related services in Puerto Rico and certain countries within the Caribbean, Central and Latin America. EVERTEC operates in three reportable business segments organized based on the nature of products and services: transaction processing, merchant acquiring and business solutions. EVERTEC owns and operates the ATH network, the leading debit payment and ATM network in Puerto Rico. EVERTEC’s products and services include point-of-sale processing, network and switch services, automated teller machine driving services, core bank processing, business process outsourcing solutions, technology infrastructure management, financial services applications and merchant acquiring services. Headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, EVERTEC has approximately 1,800 employees in 8 countries throughout the Caribbean, Central and Latin America. EVERTEC is 51% owned by an affiliate of Apollo Management VII, L.P., a leading private equity and capital markets investor, and 49% owned by Popular, Inc., the largest financial institution in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.